New £2 coin marks First World War

A raft of new coins for 2014 that commemorate British anniversaries including the centenary of the First World War have been produced by the Royal Mint.

It has produced new designs for five denomination of coins, including a 50 pence piece to mark the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year.

There will also be two new £2 coins in circulation, including one of which pays tribute to the 500th anniversary of Trinity House, the coastal defences that have protected Britain's waters since 1514.

The other commemorates the outbreak of the First World War with a design that mimics the instantly recognisable call to arms by Lord Kitchener and his pointing finger.

Kevin Clancy, director of the Royal Mint Museum, said the coin was the first in a series that would follow the progress of the war over the next five years.

"There is a programme of coins to mark the centenary of the beginning of the First World War," he said.

"They will track its way over the next five years, but there will be a £2 coin to mark the outbreak of the war next year and it's got a very familiar design: Lord Kitchener pointing out from the face of the coin as he did from the contemporary posters asking people at the time to sign up for the army."

The floral emblem £1 coins, which began last year with a rose for England and a daffodil for Wales, will continue with the addition of coins featuring a thistle for Scotland or a flax plant for Northern Ireland.

A special edition £5 coin completes the Mint's new designs. Created by sculptor Mark Richards, it marks the 300th anniversary of the death of Queen Anne.

The typical purse-filling coins of 1p to £1 will continue to carry sections of the royal coat of arms that can be arranged to complete the famous emblem.